Hi Donna I found that website most interesting. Here in Australia we were far away from such damage as London, Essex and other counties experienced. We can only imagine what it was like. Darwin was bombed with some loss of life and Catalina flying boats in Broome harbour, Western Australia, were bombed by the Japanese, also with loss of life. The hospital ship Centaur was hit by a Japanese submarine off the coast of southern Queensland where many people lost their lives. This ship was clearly marked with a red cross which identified it as a hospital ship. The wreckage was found not long ago and there is a memorial at Tweed Heads on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. There were some mini-submarines found in Sydney Harbour. There are many battlements on the northern Australian coastline and coast watchers waited to report sightings of invading planes or ships. The Battle of the Coral Sea is well known in Australian WW2 history. I was but a small child at the time of WW2, but have travelled extensively within Australia, particularly to the Top End. Pam in Brisbane Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donia Stick" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 8:29 PM Subject: Re: [Ess] Deal Blitz death My father, Don Flint, a Southend man, was a fireman in London during the Blitz. Whilst he was on leave in Southend he and his brother Ron, also a fireman, were recognised in the High Street after the bombing of the London Hotel. A Fire Officer called to them to remove their jackets and "get stuck in" rescuing people from the building. According to their youngest brother the local firemen were quite reluctant but the officer knew that my father and Uncle Ron were used to this type of incident. My father pulled out three bodies from the cellar of the hotel. Both he and Uncle Ron received commendations for their efforts from the Chief Fire Officer of Southend. There is a photograph of the ruins of the hotel at http://www.thesoutheastecho.co.uk/southend_history4.htm Regards Donia